August 31, 2009

Contest Results: New Moon…er…Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

So we had a few takers for my author signed copy of Blue Moon by Alyson Noel. I’m glad there are others that might enjoy it a bit more than I didn’t.

Blue Moon

I used random.org/lists to get the winner. She was also the first person to fill out the form, so congrats on that!

List Randomizer

There were 11 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

  1. Katie
  2. Jill F.
  3. J. Stribling
  4. Raelena
  5. Wendy Cueto
  6. Lynda Smith
  7. Alexa - hipgirl2
  8. Kate
  9. Alexa - lovinfitch
  10. Debbie's World of Books
  11. Cynthia Wang

Timestamp: 2009-08-31 15:25:00 UTC

Katie, I have your email address and will be emailing for your mailing address. You’ll have until Friday morning to send me your shipping information. If I do not receive it by Friday, 12:00 pm (noon) EST I will have to pick a new winner, # 2.

Thanks for taking this off my hands. It’ll give up limited space on my bookshelf for good books such as Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater that I JUST got in the mail today!!!

Jess Sig

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Contest Results: Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Intertwined

Thanks to random.org/lists here’s the random list of entries for the ARC of Intertwined by Gena Showalter. #1 is the winner!

List Randomizer

There were 70 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

  1. Jennifer
  2. Tina
  3. Wrighty
  4. Kristen
  5. Kate
  6. gaby317
  7. soundistheword3
  8. throuthehaze
  9. a flight of minds
  10. Tynga
  11. Jessica
  12. smck27
  13. Wendy C.
  14. Kytaira
  15. Jessica
  16. Kate
  17. Marie
  18. throuthehaze
  19. Jessica Secret
  20. a flight of minds
  21. Jill of The O.W.L. Blog
  22. Kristen
  23. Jennifer
  24. Jamie
  25. Christine
  26. Tina
  27. Alexa
  28. Chelsea B.
  29. Kate
  30. Wanda
  31. Debbie's World of Books
  32. Pamk
  33. Jennifer
  34. DeNiSe MaDnEsS
  35. Jill of The O.W.L. Blog
  36. Wrighty
  37. Tynga
  38. shal
  39. DeNiSe MaDnEsS
  40. Debbie's World of Books
  41. DeNiSe MaDnEsS
  42. smck27
  43. shal
  44. Paradox
  45. Jamie
  46. Erica
  47. Book Sp(l)ot
  48. Jessica Secret
  49. soundistheword3
  50. Erica
  51. Wendy C.
  52. Jessica
  53. shal
  54. Christine
  55. Kytaira
  56. gaby317
  57. Paradox
  58. Tynga
  59. Taste Life Twice
  60. smck27
  61. Alexa
  62. Tina
  63. Debbie's World of Books
  64. Book Sp(l)ot
  65. Taste Life Twice
  66. Christine
  67. a flight of minds
  68. Jamie
  69. Pamk
  70. Jessica Secret

Timestamp: 2009-08-31 15:14:36 UTC

Congrats to Jennifer for winning! I have your email address and will be emailing for your mailing address. You’ll have until Friday morning to send me your shipping information. If I do not receive it by Friday, 12:00 pm (noon) EST I will have to pick a new winner, # 2.

Thanks to everyone for entering! There are always contests on my sidebar for you to enter for a chance at some great books.

Jess Sig

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August 29, 2009

In My Mailbox

I bought two books this week!

Strange Angels

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Razorbill (May 14, 2009), Young Adult, 304 pages, $9.99 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09), Kindle Ed. $7.99(Amazon.com, 08/29/09))

Summary (Lili St. Crows web site)":

Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember. She travels from town to town with her father, hunting the things that go bump in the night and eat the unwary. It’s a weird life, but a good one–until it all explodes and a zombie busts into her new house.

Alone, terrified, and trapped in an icy town, Dru’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. Can she trust the boy who is just a little too adult–and just happens to get bit by a werwulf? Or the strange blue-eyed boy who tells her she’s heir to a long-forgotten power? Can she even trust her own instincts?

Because Dru is not the first in her family to be killed by the darkness of the Real World. The monsters have decided to hunt back–and now Dru has to figure out who to trust, who to fight, and when to run. And not incidentally, she has to figure out how she’s going to get out of this alive.

And she has to do it by sundown, or it’s all over…

I’m reading it now and it’s AWESOME! :)

And:

Hunting Ground

 Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, Book 2) by Patricia Briggs

Ace (August 25, 2009), 304 pages, $7.99 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09)

Summary (Amazon.com):

Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son -and enforcer -of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles's reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer -or Charles will take the fall.

I received a few books for review:

Karma for Beginners

Karma For Beginners by Jessica Blank

Hyperion Book CH (August 18, 2009), 320 pages, Young Adult, $11.55 (Amazon.com, 08/28/09)

Here’s a summary description from Amazon.com:

Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes. 


Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?

A few are ebooks:

MiddlewitchMiddlewitch by Heather Parker

Drollerie Press (July 24, 2009), Kindle Ed. $3.03 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09)

Summary (Amazon.com):

Being a witch isn't always easy. She's managed to learn love potions with only one real mistake, and that was hardly her fault. She can whip up a mean maths retention spell, but it's not all cake and roses. Take dating, for instance. As Alicia Meldrew puts it, how does one even bring it up? -Hobbies? Yes, I usually practise the black arts on Mondays, Thursdays and every other weekend. You?-

Alicia is a young witch with a mission: to protect the citizens of Middlewitch, a sleepy little hamlet consisting mostly of a church, a senior citizen's home, a pub, and two constables. You'd think such a small town wouldn't have problems with dark forces, but you'd be wrong. With the help of her cats, Domino and Tango, the Women's Institute, and even the Vicar, Alicia faces down demons, vampires, satanists, an American...and even the City.

She finally has a boyfriend, but is she really able to learn to share her life with James? And if she can, is she strong enough to learn to get on with his mother?

I started this and am enjoying it. It’s light and British, which is always fun!

Three Seeds

Three Seeds by Gabriel Madison

eTreasures Publishing (August 19, 2009), 290 pages (I have the PDF), $15.00 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09)

Summary (Amazon.com):

An unnatural cold front grows each day, bewildering world leaders and scientists, while leaving people across the world in a state of panic. All of North America is covered in snow, as Earth slowly reverts into a frozen oasis, causing religious groups to scream of the end of days, while others believe it’s the beginning of a new and foretold era. Rosemary Anderson finds herself working as a receptionist, living on an old southern plantation and wishing for excitement. David, the man claiming to have rescued her from a car wreck three years earlier, has maneuvered himself into her life, but only shows up occasionally to ask Rose strange and cryptic questions about a past she no longer remembers. Rose’s desire for adventure comes true, when strange men arrive at her plantation, and suddenly assaults her. Rose narrowly escapes with the help of her mysterious friend, David. David flees to Atlanta as he leads Rose through a hidden and treacherous world filled with death, power, secrets and passion. While trying to protect her from immortals shrouded by shadows, a secret society and ancient beings from a forgotten time determine to either capture, or kill her.

I LOVED this summary! The author has a great site with some excerpts and a promo video. I’ll be reading this one very soon!

I’m excited about all of these! I’m really enjoying Strange Angels and I’ll probably start Karma for Beginners next, then maybe Three Seeds. Depends on when Catching Fire arrives! :)

What did you buy or receive?

Jess Sig

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Create A Cover

I saw this first on The Ladybug Reads, her’s is good, but she saw it on The Story Siren….I either missed hers or haven’t gotten to it yet….not sure. Anyway, it was fun!

Create Your Debut YA Cover:

1. Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

2. Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml

The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3. Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4. Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5. Post it to your site along with this text.

Here’s what I got:

Ruffle by Kathy J. Reese (my book cover)Pretty fun huh?! I don’t like the image much. I could do without the bareback, bra showing but didn’t have much choice when I had to use the first image with a person in it. :)

Did you do one? Link in comments!

Jess Sig

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Contest Round Up

Here’s a round up of all the contests I’ve come across recently. Check my sidebar often to see what’s new. I update as I come across them but I don’t always do this round up post. :)

If you do nothing else you MUST check out this awesome interview hosted by Kim at The Book Butterfly. She interviews Jessica Packwood of Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. She’s also hosting a contest to win a copy of the book and a t-shirt!

This is one of my favorite YA vampire books and Beth is an amazing author. I first saw her guest post at Wondrous Reads. Check that out too. And if you haven’t read Jessica’s GT Dating on the Dark Side, you should! Read my review if you missed it.

So, take a few minutes and enter for some awesome books! Don’t forget to mention I referred you! :)

Two of the above are my own contests: Intertwined and Blue Moon (author signed to me) and end tomorrow at midnight, EST! :)

Jess Sig

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August 28, 2009

First Line Friday: Karma For Beginners by Jessica Blank

Karma For Beginners by Jessica Blank

Hyperion Book CH (August 18, 2009)

320 pages, Young Adult

$11.55 (Amazon.com, 08/28/09)

Karma for Beginners

I had to fight for this hamburger.

Here’s a summary description from Amazon.com:

Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes. 


Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?

Interested? Check it out. I just received it today from Disney (Hyperion Book CH) for review. I’ll be starting it soon.

Jess Sig

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Book Review Blogging 101 with Dear Author’s Jane

I had to share this.

Dear Author logo

Jane at Dear Author wrote an amazing post on Book Review Blogging. If you’re a book review blogger you should read this!

She has some awesome tips and a lot of it is common sense. It’s important to remember to be professional and respectful when handling requests and reviews.

Hope you find it as informative as I did.

Jess Sig

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August 26, 2009

Blue Moon (Immortals, Book 2) by Alyson Noel

GIVEAWAY is Closed! Winner Announced HERE!

Blue Moon (Immortals, Book 2) by Alyson Noel

St. Martin’s Griffin (July 7, 2009)

304 pages

$9.99 (Amazon.com, 08/26/09)

Blue Moon

I won this signed copy from a contest held by The Book Butterfly. It’s such a nice blog I couldn’t help but enter even though I wasn’t a fan of the first book, Evermore. You can read my review of Evermore HERE. I honestly didn’t think I’d win but I did. I read the book. I wasn’t a fan of Alyson’s first book but since I won the book I was willing to give this series a second chance.

Plot: 1

Setting: 5

Writing: 2

Originality: 4

Characters: 3

Passion: 4

Overall: 19/30 = 63% D

Cover/Title Bonus: 5

Summary (Alyson’s web site):

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever's powers are increasing, Damen's are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.
Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen's past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

Read an excerpt on her web site.

Plot:

So Ever has powers and Damen is teaching her how to use them. They are also trying to “get closer”, if you know what I mean. If you read my review of Evermore you might have remembered that I thought this would be addressed in the follow up novel but I was guessing that it wouldn’t. I was right. They do make plans but they run into the issue of Damen’s “illness”. There’s a new guy character who’s shaking things up. It is all so horribly and terribly predictable. I couldn’t wait to get to the end. I almost DNF this book but I wanted to see how Alyson wrapped it all up. Alyson takes the LONG way around a plot line.

Setting:

Summerland is awesome. That I will give to Alyson. She has created a place that I would love to go to for a few hours a day. Damen’s house is another great place. These are two places that I would recognize instantly if I were suddenly dropped into either.

Writing:

It’s final. I can not read another book by Alyson Noel. I gave this one a try because I won it. I had no intention of buying it to read it. The beginning was great. Then we meet Roman and the story goes to shit. The middle of the book is fluff, procrastination, self blame, denial, second guesses and complete rubbish. The end of the book was just terrible! Why even write this book!? It got us no where but back at the beginning but now with a whole new obstacle to overcome. I have no faith in Ever and Damen’s relationship. It’s too sad and I will not wait around while the author drags me through the chaotic mess she’s made of Ever’s life.

Originality:

The Immortal concept is good. The land of Summerland is amazingly original. The new twist that will be the major issue in the next book is a BIG issue and I can just see how that’ll turn out.

Characters:

Ever and Damen are cuter than ever in the beginning. Then they’re introduced to Roman the new kid at school. Roman seems transfixed on Ever. Ever is instantly repelled from Roman either because she’s jealous or because he’s dangerous…..

Damen suffers from his oh so “mysterious” illness. Ever is a complete moron but it’s not her fault. I blame the author. I know I’m mean and I can’t stand that I’m reacting this way to this book but I can NOT help it. The book infuriated me.

MAN! This is the hardest review I’ve written since Evermore! I couldn’t stand Ever in this book. Is she blind? Why is she so slow at solving this not so mysterious mystery? Yes, I’m writing a review with QUESTIONS! Questions that are abundant in this book!

Ever says it nicely on page 278:

“Get to the point,”

Yes! Please, get to the POINT!

Passion:

Yes, there’s passion very early in this book. Ever and Damen want to get it on but Ever is hung up on the fact that Damen is, like OMG 600 years old! And she’s a measly 16 years old with no experience in “that” department.

I freaking couldn’t stand this! Sure if I were her I’d be like “yikes” but I would look beyond that fact and if I truly loved the guy I’d get over it fast. You know, hormones and everything are RAGING at that age.

After watching True Blood and seeing that the vampire Jessica was a virgin before being turned and she loses it with Hoyt but then her hymen grows back because of her healing abilities. Will Ever suffer from the same thing? We probably will NEVER find out so why am I even thinking that far ahead?! Has Alyson thought of this though? Have you?

Overall:

I hated it. I think the concept was good but the outcome was terrible. Am I ruined because I’m older? (26 years old) Or is Alyson’s vision of the fantasy so twisted that she removed her self and didn’t think about how smart her readers are? I was literally skipping entire paragraphs towards the end of this book. I’d had enough of the fluff and wanted results. I was tired of hearing what Ever didn’t know and was questioning herself about. GET A MOVE ON! I honestly think this book should NOT have been written in the first person. A third person point of view would have been a lot better. Or at least trying to make it UNpredictable. You think?

Cover/Title Bonus:

The title and cover are perfect. Although the reasoning for the Blue Moon are still all wrapped around the poorly handled plot.

Other Reviews:

The Book Reader - New Moon copy cat

Ticket to Anywhere - 5 out of 5 stars

Shooting Star Mag - 5/5

Ravenous Reader - YYY 1/2

The Sweet Bookshelf - 3

Blood Bookaholic - 4.5 hearts

Frenetic Reader - 8.5/10

GreenBeanTeenQueen - 5/5 stars

Sarah's Random Musings - 88/100 or B

The Story Siren - 5 stars = It was amazing

The Ladybug Reads - 1.4 out of 5

Trailer:

Heck, don’t bother reading the book! Just watch this trailer!

I know this review was harsh. I apologize to both fans of Alyson and to Alyson too. She must connect with readers because she is selling books. I applaud her for that but I just don’t get it. I know I’m not alone as I’ve had some people comment on my Goodreads status updates agreeing with me.

Did you read this series? Do you agree with me about it being so predictable? Or do you disagree completely? Did you review Blue Moon? Put your link in your comment. I’m interested in other’s reviews.

WANT MY COPY?

There was an embedded form here, before I closed entries!


Jess Sig

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WoW: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Yeah, I tried my hardest to enter every ARC contest for this book but there just weren’t enough! Alas, the book will be released in less than a week. I’ve already pre-ordered it and am awaiting it’s arrival very patiently.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

September 1, 2009

catching fire

I never really did a formal review for The Hunger Games. There are a ton of them out there. If you’ve heard that it was good that is only the beginning of what I would praise it with.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

It was raw, emotional, adventurous, mysterious, awesome, and encouraging. It was one of the best books I read this year.

I’ve since then loaned my copy out to my good friend Kevin, my mother-in-law, my husband, who hasn’t opened the book yet but doesn’t know what he’s missing, and a cousin of my husbands. And I actually have two copies of The Hunger Games because I had ordered it just before I won a contest for it! They arrived within days of each other.

Therefore, if you haven’t read this book you really should. It does not disappoint. The fact that Lionsgate has purchased the movie rights shows that it has been recognized. I just hope they stay true to the book, even if that means an R-rated rating. They might get away with a PG-13.

What are you waiting for?

Jess Sig

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August 25, 2009

Teaser Tuesday: Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Teaser Tuesday

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I can’t stop with just two sentences! And I’m actually not reading this right now but I’ll be doing the review later today!

And then there’s Anne.

I glance down at the mark still visible on my forearm, now faded to a dim red circle—the mark that links me to this girl, who has for so long been just a ghost, just a vague hope year after year. But now, I’ve found her. She’s real, solid, and more powerful than she understands.

In the past two days, I’ve taken her entire life and managed to turn it inside out.

Page 190, “Dreaming Anastasia, by Joy Preble

Dreaming Anastasia

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

320 pages

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (September 1, 2009)

$9.99 (Amazon.com, 08/24/09)

I think I’ll give away my copy of the ARC too, so stay tuned! :)

Jess Sig

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August 24, 2009

YALSA’s Teen's’ Top Ten

Did you vote?yalsanew2

About the Teens' Top Ten

Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. Nominations are posted on Support Teen Literature Day during National Library Week, and teens across the country vote on their favorite titles each year. Readers ages twelve to eighteen can vote right here, online, anytime between Aug. 24 and Sept. 18; the winners will be announced in a webcast featuring WWE Superstars and Divas during Teen Read Week.

 

Go vote for your top 3 picks. Voting ends Sept. 18th.

teenstopten

Jess Sig

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Living Your Five

Heard of this yet? It’s a very cool thing a few of our favorite authors have joined forces to create.

Check out the site and see what it’s all about!

livingFive_02

LIVING YOUR FIVE IS HERE!

We know, we know… we’ve been hinting about it for weeks. The super secret project of Kay Cassidy, Tera Lynn Childs, Alyson Noel and Becca Fitzpatrick. The #fivers hashtag. The Founding Fiver badges. The huge top secret contest. So many secrets!

Good news. The secret’s out.

Join us for the worldwide launch of Living Your Five! Living Your Five is an online community dedicated to changing our world one person at a time. You don’t have to cure the world of cancer or banish world hunger in a single day. It’s about working together, each of us taking one more step every day. It’s about knowing what you care about–what you’re passionate about!–and stepping away from the sidelines of your life to make your mark on the world.

To celebrate the launch of the official Living Your Five web site, we’re even hosting a contest with awesome daily prizes and a MEGA grand prize all courtesy of our Founding Fivers! Find out all the details at www.livingyourfive.com.

We’re ready to change the world. Now it’s up to you. Will you watch from the sidelines or join us on the ride? (Come on, we know you want to!)

They are so excited about this new development that they are having a contest to celebrate! Enter by 8/28 by 9:00 pm EST.

The prizes are:

  1. A $100 Barnes & Noble gift card
    (because we know you love books!)
  2. A $100 donation in your name to the non-profit of your choice
    (because we know you love making a difference!)
  3. And the latest book (or ARC) from each Founding Fiver
    (that's four signed books!)

Go forth and learn about the Living Your Five!

I’ll be doing my best to join. It sounds easy enough! :) What about you?

Jess Sig

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August 23, 2009

Contest Alert: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

I sooo want to read The Dark Divine by Bree Despain! After reading the sneak peek of the first chapter on her website I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it! What an awesome first chapter!

Anyhow, the cover to this upcoming book is gorgeously purple. And now Bree has matching nail polish! To celebrate she’s hosting a contest!

The prizes are:

  1. A pedicure kit complete with my new THE DARK DIVINE nail polish! + An autographed ARC of THE DARK DIVINE + $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble.
  2. Signed copy of MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Sydney Salter + Signed copy of LIFE IN THE PIT by Kristen Landon
  3. A $30 gift card to Barnes & Noble

Head on over to her blog and find out all the details!

Dark Divine Nail Polish 005

If you enter from my link please let Bree know that I sent you over! Thanks!

Enter by August 29th!

Jess Sig

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Contest: ARC of Intertwined by Gena Showalter

CONTEST CLOSED! Winner announced HERE.

I just reviewed Intertwined by Gena Showalter.
Intertwined
I received an extra copy of the ARC from the publisher and I want to share! To win this brand new ARC follow these contest entry rules.
How to Enter:
IMPORTANT! Each entry MUST be a separate comment! Otherwise you forfeit your additional entries! I will be using a random number generator to pick the winner!
  1. Post a comment! Any comment will do! Include your email to ensure you receive your winnings!
  2. Follow my blog! Already follow? Awesome! Let me know!
  3. Post this contest on the web! Anywhere is acceptable. Leave the link in your comment. One link per comment. If you Twitter it, @ me! @junklekennedy
That’s at least 3 (three) entries to win the ARC of Intertwined by Gena Showalter!
  • Entries will be accepted until Midnight, August 30th (one week)
  • Entries are open to US & Canada only, sorry. NO P.O. Boxes.
  • The winner will be randomly selected via random.org based on the comment number automatically generated when you comment. Random comments WILL be deleted. Sorry. Comment on my review if you just want to comment.
  • The winner will be announced on August 31st(or soon thereafter)
  • The winner will have 3 days to email me their shipping info or they will forfeit their winnings and a new winner will be selected. Include your email in your comment and I'll email you if you win.

Enter away! Good luck!
Jess Sig
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Intertwined By Gena Showalter

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

HarlequinTeen (September 1, 2009

448 pages

$10.87 Hardcover (Amazon.com, 08/23/09)

$9.99 Kindle (Amazon.com, 08/23/09)

Intertwined

Plot: 4

Setting: 4

Writing: 5

Originality: 5

Characters: 5

Passion: 4

Overall: 27/30 = 90% - A

Cover/Title Bonus: 4

I picked up a signed ARC of Intertwined while at BEA in May. I read it within a few days of returning home and devoured it very quickly.

Summary (Gena’s website)

There’s something about the new guy at Crossroads High…

Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:


One can time-travel.
One can raise the dead. 
One can tell the future.
And one can possess another human.


With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends.  But now, they’re causing him all kinds of trouble.


Like, he’ll blink and suddenly he’s a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he’ll change the future. Or, he’ll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she’s going to die.
He’s so over it. All he wants is peace.


And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices.  Well, for as long as he’s with her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He’s a loner; she has friends. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it.  For her sake, he should stay away.  But it’s too late. . .


Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own and a vampire princess Aden can’t resist.  Two romances, both forbidden.  .  . doomed.  Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger. . . but not everyone will come out alive. . .

Read an excerpt!

Plot:

Aden has 4 spirits in his head. One of them can raise the dead so he must steer clear of graveyards and such. One can time travel. One can tell the future. And one can possess another human. They prove to be cumbersome yet useful. One day he travels just a few steps too close to a graveyard in his new town, raises some dead people all because he was trying to get closer to a girl. That’s where we meet Mary Ann. They feel something when ever they are in close proximity. Their attraction isn’t sexual attraction but rather brother sisterly attraction, which I was a little upset about but got over that quickly.

Aden lives on a ranch for troubled teens and bunks with a few other boys who are not too friendly.

Mary Ann is being followed by a wolf. She quiets the voices in Aden’s head.

Aden glimpses a hot girl in a line of trees near the ranch. He begins dreaming about her.

Much, much, much more happens to make this story twisted between all characters involved. It unfolds very well but it keeps you on your toes.

Setting:

Crossroads, Oklahoma is the town and Aden lives on the D and M Ranch. Most of Aden’s scenes revolve around the ranch and the surrounding woods. Some takes place in their high school. Mary Ann’s home and bedroom are visited frequently. Nothing extraordinary, except the graveyard and a few time travel expeditions, prove to be anything but a normal town.

Writing:

I love reading Gena’s books. She’s what I call a safe read for me. I know that when I open one of her books I’m going to be thoroughly entertained and finish it smiling. Intertwined did that and more. I loved that there was an abundance of characters. Aden and Mary Ann being the main characters but they each find a love interest. The book is written in third person which allows the reader to grasp a ton of information without losing the connection with each character.

The voices in Aden’s head do tend to get overbearing but they proved to be entertaining.

Originality:

I found this book to be very original. With Aden having all those spirits in his head each with their special power proved to show how creative Gena can be. Mix in a wolf shape shifter and some vampires and we’ve got a wonderful concoction of supernatural awesomeness. I love that this was a YA. It was the first YA book of Gena’s that I’ve read and it has proven to me that she’s very capable to writing both adult and YA. I will be reading her other YA books in the future.

Characters:

I’ve already mentioned a ton about Aden. He has spirits in his head that proved him with some pretty wicked super powers. He uses each of them a few times during the story and they were pretty cool. He matures over the course of the book and that’s always fun to see.

Mary Ann was also very cool. I actually liked her story a bit more than Aden’s and can’t wait to read the next book in the story, which Gena is working on now and the title is Unraveled, to see how the ending of this book is handled. Unraveled will release September 2010.

The two love interests are Victoria the Vampire and Riley the shape shifting wolf protector of Victoria. Victoria is a nice vampire who really shouldn’t be falling for a human. Riley is freaking awesome! He’s the dangerous bad boy some of us just drool over. Some of his lines, which are usually short and to the point, are to die for!

Passion:

This is a YA book so the passion isn’t hot and heavy but true to a teen romance. There’s some minor skinny dipping with Aden and Victoria and Mary Ann and Riley have some pretty deep conversations about their attraction to each other. Each relationship is handled very nicely. Each seems to happen naturally, not pushed what so ever. And I’m actually looking forward to seeing Mary Ann and Riley together more than Aden and Victoria.

Overall:

I loved this book. I was just sitting here flipping through the pages and now I want to reread it! I loved this book for the very reasons why other reviews hated it. I loved the chaos of all the characters. I didn’t find it hard to follow but I can understand how others might find it confusing or overbearing. I loved all the supernatural elements. It was a true paranormal fantasy. And lastly, I loved it because it seemed real, even though it was absolutely crazy it flowed like it really happened.

Cover/Title:

I like this cover. The text font is super cool and the coloring is nice. I don’t like that Aden’s head is cut in half. I just had a conversation with another author about this very thing. Why do that? It works on his cover because I can still see the emotion being played out on Aden’s face but I would have loved to see his ENTIRE face. His clothes depict him as a true teenager: fitted yet comfortable. And I must comment on the size of the book. It’s shorter and just slightly wider than a normal book. I find that very cool and it felt very comfortable.

And Intertwined as the title? It’s perfect. The characters are nothing if not Intertwined.

Other reviews:

Steph Su Reads – 2 out of 5

Babbling About Books, and More – DNF

The Book Smugglers – 8 – Excellent

Ravenous Reader – 3 and 3/4 Y’s

SciFiGuy

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Author Talk

I’ve seen Intertwined at Borders as of last week so you might be able to get this early. I also heard that Amazon.com is already shipping too. Here’s Intertwined in action at the local Borders in Hagerstown, MD.

Intertwined in action

 

I have an extra, brand new ARC of Intertwined. Interested? Look for the next blog post for the contest! :)

Speaking of contests! Are you signing up daily for the Intertwined Sweepstakes!? You must! Entry widget is on my sidebar or visit my blog post about it.

 

Jess Sig

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August 22, 2009

Upcoming Reviews: Showalter, Preble, Fitzpatrick!

I’m trying to catch up on my reviews!

I did a few today and I want to tackle some more tomorrow. I downloaded a new blogging software to help me get these out faster. I’m now using Windows Live Writer. It’s super easy to use and I love that I don’t have to wait for Firefox to catch up to me, which was quite frankly pissing me off!

Anyhow, I hope to get out the following reviews tomorrow:

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Intertwined

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Dreaming Anastasia

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush Hush

Get ready for three awesome YA reviews!

Jess Sig

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Contest Alert: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Remember my review of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber? No? Well then go remind yourself!

strangely beautiful Tale

If you DO remember then head on over to The Book Butterfly and enter a contest to win a signed copy! You won’t regret it! Enter by September 10th!

Book Butterfly

Watch the trailer if you haven’t already!

 

Jess Sig

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